The gift of life, I remain amazed

1/30/10 Saturday
Yesterday was great. I stayed sharp and energetic the whole day long, most unusual. The fellowship at the coffee house was uplifting as we heard from the couple who’ve come to Midland to open a branch of the International House of Prayer (IHOP is the initials and they have nothing to do with pancakes)
I learned a lot about the organization and am quite impressed. Like missionaries they raise support for themselves and unlike churches the organization does not pay salaries and donations go to ministry efforts at various places. At least that’s the understanding I have now. I sometimes misinterpret what I hear so am seldom certain of things.

After the meeting I drove to the little old lady’s house after calling to make sure she was home. She was and was happy to have me come by. We talked about the financial mess she’s in and I told her about the attorney firm I’d contacted on her behalf. She dug out the box that contains all the information she has about it so I can bring it home, make copies of everything, and then send it to the attorney along with the notes I took about it all. With that done I went out and fixed her garage door. The piece of wood we bought isn’t quite the right size but will work. Mrs. G. (the sweet little old lady) just called me a few minutes ago. She had gotten a letter from Met Life telling her that she owes taxes on the money they say they accidently put in her account and illegally removed part of and are now demanding the rest of back. It keeps getting more convoluted.

Cherie and I are in house cleaning mode today. I got her to ask me to do some things that are painful for her to do. Asking for help is something that’s hard for Cherie to do. I went through the boxes that the second wife had given me. They contained paperwork that dated back to when Cherie and I were married the first time along with some records of when I married the second one. There are so many blanks in my memories of these times that there were several surprises. I found the prospectus and financial records of a company I’d started and totally forgotten about called “The Edge”. I was quite impressed with myself as I read what I’d written almost thirty years ago. Then I found notes, tests, and books from Christ for the Nations Bible College, where I first met and fell in love with Cherie. The tests were from Ron Wahlrobe’s classes I’d taken. All of this really brings home what a miracle my life is. How amazing it is that we are back together, that God has restored so much that had been destroyed. It is these things that help greatly as I seek the God I had served and believed in. What a wonder it all is to me now, a wonder that I still live after being officially declared dead, a wonder that so much has been brought back that had been lost. I am grateful for life and even more grateful for the kind of life it’s turning out to be. I am blessed and deserve it less than so many others I know. Thank you God.

Here’s something I found that I’d scribbled on a piece of paper while in Bible college, probably around 1979.

Trials and tribulations?
So many of us say we are having a hard time, they say “the devil is attacking, ect. But yet it is just our luxuries being threatened.
Our preconceived ideas, our notions of what the Christian walk should be. But God desires a people of faith, trust, dedication, and love. A people willing to take up the cross, to endure suffering. To know and realize that on earth and spiritually we are involved in a serious thing, a war, a battle, to carry the standard of Jesus and to snatch from the hand of Satan the souls Jesus died for.
What is death but to live with Jesus.
And life but to be full of the Spirit.

So in this I can see who I used to be. A person who vanished long ago and perhaps can once again be. I am wiser but not as smart now, though I work steadily to become that person I can be proud of, to honor the gift my life is, to take advantage of this grace I’ve been given. At the HeBrew meeting I once again told the story of this miracle and saw anew the impact it has on others.